Author's Notes
This was a bit of the spur of the moment idea after reading a few fics on the Ishbalan war. It's such a neat scene to play around with.
This is based off the 2003 anime, seeing as that's the only one I've watched closely. It followed certain military personnel. No non-military folk focused on.
My first FMA poem, and rather longer than I had expected, but I rather like how it came out. Regardless, I'll let you guys be the judge. Please tell me what you think of this attempt to add a little to the war fiction.
Behind the Eyes of War
Black serpents
Rise from the ash coated ground,
Fangs bared. Gleaming with poison.
They fall from trees, rafters, support,
Raining down upon their meals.
No mercy
They quickly fall,
And the snakes trampled.
White raises up,
Purity not, but blindness.
Following in clouding colour's wake.
Fingers snap,
Fires lick,
Air rages and explodes…
Leaving a lone figure standing
as the wind blows the ashes hence
Leaving only the ash on his face behind.
Screams echo across empty plains
Stripped of life and love
Explosions tearing, ripping apart
As grey covers green, red brown.
A gleaming grin,
Wild eyes shining
And deranged laughter echoing amidst dying shrieks.
He stood tall
Surrounded by weapons and cannon fire
Surging with power.
It was intoxicating.
Satisfying
Watching the little animals falls
Screaming as they tried to fight
The power they, he, possessed.
An aim.
A trigger released.
A single bullet flying through the air.
It buries itself deep
And the victim falls like lead
To be swept up, forgotten
On the side of a road as war rages on.
Her eyes harden, her mouth narrows
And she feels the cold steel
Beneath her fingers before firing again.
A man stares
And shakes his head in remorse
Seeing those gleaming red stones
That had brought about a barren land.
He shook slightly,
But it was too late.
Another corpse fell
Coated with blood.
He watches the execution
With no emotions showing on his face.
Inside though he is pleased
To see the small insignificant figures
Scurrying, made desperate by war.
His eyes catch fleeing figures
And one in particular, standing out.
For a moment he frowns as the life is snuffed out
Such a waste, he had hoped
The light would engulf the misguided soul.
But the line straightens again.
Desperate faces, there were many of those
Amongst his own men as well.
Lives destroyed,
Families ripped apart,
Souls darkened.
There would be many who would stop
Sleeping that night.
One of them perhaps
Would be the one to go to the end.
A/N: Here are the stanzas in order. They represent characters and scenes from the 2003 version of Ishbal war. Just in case. The last time I did a split segment (from Digimon on Takuya's luck) people hadn't been able to connect parts with the anime.
This was only focused on the military side. I was going to include Scar as well, but then decided that complicates the issue. Ditto with the Rockbells and the murder. This is more general.
Stanza 1: the special ops team that had included Martel and the other chimeras
Stanza 2: Roy Mustang.
Stanza 3: Zolf J Kimblee
Stanza 4: Basque Grand
Stanza 5: Riza Hawkeye – this part crosses over slightly with the 2009 anime. Partly the cold feeling of her gun.
Stanza 6: Tim Marco.
Stanza 7: Fuhrer President King Bradley